The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria c. 1656

Carlo Dolci created this painting of the Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria sometime in the 17th century. Paintings of the marriage of Saint Catherine were popular in the Counter-Reformation, and they often served to represent the union of the soul with Christ. Dolci’s devout Catholicism influenced his style of painting as well as his subject matter, and his work often had a devotional function. The artist was a Florentine, and we might understand this painting in relation to the institutional history of the art academy in Florence. Although Dolci joined the Accademia del Disegno in 1648, he seemed to have doubts about the emphasis on classical artistic theory. His paintings stood apart from other works produced in the academy, and as a result, he was censured by his fellow members. Understanding the full meaning of this painting involves delving into a number of resources such as letters, diaries, and institutional records, and examining these in their social context.